IEA: China ‘undisputed’ growth leader in renewables

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Solar PV (photovoltaic) capacity rose faster than any other fuel in 2016 for the first time with China accounting for half of the global expansion, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday, predicting China to be the “undisputed renewable growth leader” in the next five years.

New solar PV capacity surged by 50 percent last year, reaching over 74 gigawatts (GW), and the strong growth boosted renewables accounted for almost two-thirds of new power capacity in the world, with 165 GW coming online, according to the report Renewable 2017 IEA released on Wednesday.

The report contributed the new record of solar PV to booming deployment in China and around the world, driven by sharp cost reductions and strong policy support.

For the next five years to 2022, solar PV will represent the largest annual capacity additions for renewables, well above wind and hydro, the report said, predicting by 2022 total solar PV capacity in the world will reach 740 GW, which is more than the current combined power capacity of India and Japan.

China is a critical actor in the market with Chinese companies holding about 60 percent of total annual solar cell manufacturing capacity globally, the report said.

China’s solar PV capacity reached 110 GW at the end of September, surpassing the target of no less than 105 GW by 2020 outlined in the country’s 13th five-year plan for 2015 to 2020, according to data from China National Renewable Energy Center.

Other than solar PV, wind capacity growth declined by almost one-fifth in 2016 and hydropower capacity expansion was lower than in 2015 as the Chinese market declined for a third year in a row, the IEA report said.

From 2017 to 2022, IEA expected global renewable electricity to expand by over 920 GW with an increase of 43 percent and China alone will account for 40 percent of global renewable capacity growth, which is largely driven by concerns about air pollution and capacity targets of the country.

Despite the policy uncertainty, the US remains the second-fastest growing market, while IEA forecast that by 2022, India renewable capacity will overtake renewable expansion in the European Union for the first time.